USGS Office in El Paso

10737 Gateway Blvd Suite 350• El Paso TX 79935 • 915.534.6308

Water data provide critical information for effective management of our Nation’s water resources. In accordance with USGS Fundamental Science Practices, the USGS Texas Water Science Center collects, analyzes, and provides unbiased and objective scientific information. Furthermore, local partnerships facilitate targeted research that is relevant to the water resource community on a wide range of topics, including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.

Previous and current research cooperators in the El Paso area include Fort Bliss, International Boundary and Water Commission, and El Paso Water. The science projects listed below are examples of water-related research that are currently or have previously been undertaken by USGS researchers.

USGS Science in and near El Paso

Upper Rio Grande Focus Area Study

USGS is undertaking a 3-year study of water use, availability, and change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in one of several national “Focus Area Studies” in the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART initiative. The Upper Rio Grande Basin Focus Area Study (URGB FAS) will compile existing information and add new scientific data and interpretation to help stakeholders face current and future water issues.

Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program

Many communities along the United States-Mexico border rely partially or completely on transboundary aquifers for industry, agriculture, and drinking water. Ongoing projects under the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program represent a collaboration among USGS Water Science Centers and Water Resources Research Institutes of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Mesilla Basin Monitoring Program

The Mesilla Basin monitoring program was established in 1987 to document the hydrologic conditions of New Mexico’s southern-most, Rio Grande rift basin. USGS collects and reports data from the Mesilla Basin in cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies. Hydrologic data collected as part of the monitoring program provide valuable information to better understand the geohydrologic system and to support future efforts to update, revise, and calibrate basin models.

Rio Grande Silvery Minnow in the Big Bend National Park Area

USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, evaluated the physical characteristics and fish assemblage composition of mapped river mesohabitats at four sites on the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte in and near Big Bend National Park, Texas. In-channel river habitat was mapped at the mesohabitat scale over a range of seasonal streamflows.

Fort Bliss Hydrogeologic Atlas

Fort Bliss, White Sands Missile Range, Doña Ana Range, and McGregor Range military installations are located in far west Texas and south-central New Mexico and operated in support of missions of the U.S. Army. In cooperation with the U.S. Army, USGS is developing a garrison-wide hydrogeologic atlas that describes the hydrology and hydrogeology of Fort Bliss and associated military installations.

Water Quality Trends from Reservoir Sediment Cores

USGS assessed historical changes in surface-water quality in the Rio Grande Basin (known as the Río Bravo Basin in Mexico) by analyzing changes in sediment chemistry in cores from three reservoirs: Elephant Butte Reservoir, Amistad International Reservoir, and Falcon International Reservoir. Sediments that erode from the land surface are transported by tributaries into the Rio Grande/Río Bravo.

USGS Data for El Paso

Texas Water Dashboard

When water levels are rising, it can be hard to quickly get all the information you need about your area, especially when you’re not in front of a computer. Launched during Texas flooding in 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey unveiled a new tool that gives users real-time water, weather and National Weather Service (NWS) flood forecast information all in one place. The USGS Texas Water Dashboard is a cutting-edge map that provides critical current water information and NWS forecast data at your fingertips on a desktop, smartphone or other mobile device.

Rio Grande Basin Salinity Geodatabase

USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, compiled salinity-related water-quality data and information in a geodatabase containing more than 6,000 sampling sites. The geodatabase was designed as a tool for water-resource management and relates the spatial location of sampling sites with salinity-related water-quality data reported by multiple agencies.

National Water-Quality Assessment

In 1991, Congress established the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA). Since then, NAWQA has been a leading source of scientific data and knowledge used by national, regional, state, and local agencies to develop science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect water resources used for drinking water, recreation, irrigation, energy development, and ecosystem needs.